Cheaper by the Dozen

One newcomer in the arena is Channel V. In 2004, their idea of a swimsuit calendar was animated schoolteacher Simpoo Singh in languorous pos...

BEFORE there was the Kingfisher calendar and Yana Gupta, there was Gladrags and Lisa Ray. Twelve years ago yes, it8217;s been a while, the green-eyed model posed in a bikini, with a Bombay Dyeing towel. That photo was in a calendar that 8216;8216;no man will ever forget,8217;8217; says editor Maureen Wadia.

For the past five years, the magazine has promoted their Mega Model and Mrs World winners in a sexy swimsuit calendar that8217;s a virtual 8216;8216;bikini parade,8217;8217; according to Wadia. Lara Dutta, Koena Mitra and Aditi Gowitrikar are all alumni of the Gladrags calendar school.

If you don8217;t know about Gladrags, you have Dr Vijay Mallya to thank. When his Kingfisher calendar debuted in 2003, it had top models in sexy custom-made designer swimsuits in some of the best locations in the world. Trademark VJM. This year8217;s calendar takes a sharp left8212;all the models are relatively unknown and the designers are fashion students.

While VJM8217;s big budget project turned the calendar world on its head, Wadia is prudent8212;she usually picks the bikinis on her overseas jaunts and only began using foreign locales last year. 8216;8216;I8217;m cost-effective. Yet the calendar has gone beyond all my expectations,8217;8217; she says.

This year everyone from music channels to lingerie brands has their own sexy variant. In fact, 2006 looks like it will be the Year of the Calendar with special mention to the swimsuit. Photographer Prabuddha Dasgupta, who has been shooting calendars for Ganjam Jewellers and top-end fashion retailer Vama for years, says brands now realise that glamorous calendars can find a place in people8217;s homes.

One newcomer in the arena is Channel V. In 2004, their idea of a swimsuit calendar was animated schoolteacher Simpoo Singh in languorous poses on a beach. This year, the Girls on V calendar has five of its sexy female VJs cavorting on a Goan beach. And you can even download the calendar from vindia.com. V8217;s head Amar Deb dismisses that the channel was inspired by Kingfisher. 8216;8216;It8217;s not really a swimsuit calendar8212;it8217;s more about beach and pop culture.8217;8217;

Another firm believer in the less-is-more theory is photographer Vikram Bawa. His calendar, in collaboration with jewellery designer buddy Yogesh Jasnani, was shot in a forest outside Mumbai, with three foreign models in various stages of undress. 8216;8216;They were pictures I wanted to shoot, and we tried to fit the jewellery in. It8217;s unexpectedly sexy and arty and some of the girls aren8217;t really wearing any clothes,8217;8217; says Bawa.

Kingfisher photographer Atul Kasbekar8217;s chooses to see the competition8217;s moves as 8216;8216;imitation is the best form of flattery8217;8217;. 8216;8216;People think a swimsuit calendar8217;s a bit of a picnic. But it8217;s not, especially when they have Vijay Mallya8217;s flamboyance to compete with.8217;8217;

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For those who think a calendar has to equal skin show, three out of the 15 photographs in the Taj Group of Hotels8217; calendar are swimsuit images. This year8217;s calendar has been shot in New York with an all-foreign crew, including celebrated photographer Laurent Elie Badessi; only two of the six models are Indian8212;Laxmi Menon and Ujjwala Raut. And the budget went up about 30 per cent from last year, says creative director Divya Thakur.

Even Kingfisher8217;s budget expanded by about 15 per cent, estimates Kasbekar. 8216;8216;We got a lot of breaks from Australian tourism,8221; he says.